Mitochondria Localization-induced Polymerization for New Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Targeting mitochondria, the vital organelle for cell survival has been recognized as an efficient strategy in therapeutic techniques. Specifically, the conjugation of drug to triphenylphosphonium (TPP) enables its accumulation into the mitochondria of cancer cells ~10 times greater than into normal cells. We developed that the supramolecular polymerization of dipeptide inside the mitochondria induced the dysfunction of mitochondria by disrupting the membrane, resulting in the selective apoptosis of cancer cells. Due to the more negative mitochondria membrane potentials in cancer cells compared to normal cells, the TPP-conjugated molecules highly accumulated in the cancer cells and induced the self-assembled structures. In addition, a mitochondriatargeting biomineralization system that favorably can induce silicification and consequent apoptosis of various cancer cells. These results provide a new insight into the use of the mitochondrial targeting molecules for a therapeutic approach.